Directed Study Courses Policy

Directed study courses are offered as a mechanism to allow students to take a required course when it has low enrollment. Rather than cancelling a course due to low enrollments, students are provided with an opportunity to take the class with the originally assigned instructor and syllabus. This enables students to progress toward the completion of their academic program.

At Excelsior University, low-enrolled sections are defined differently based on the level of study. At the undergraduate level, the minimum section size is 10 students. At the graduate-level, the minimum section size is 8 students. Non-required courses that do not meet the minimum requirements will not be offered.

Courses are housed within one of the three schools at Excelsior, and low-enrolled sections are offered only when approved by the dean or the dean’s designee. Courses with fewer than 8 (Graduate) or 10 (undergraduate) registered students may be cancelled at any time prior to the term start date.

Instructional pay for low enrolled courses will be determined based on the number of students enrolled in the course section at the close of late registration, which ends on the first Wednesday of the term at midnight ET.